This Is The Last Second Chance
by xDaisyPetalx
Summary: A few months on from the attack Charlotte and Cooper are still trying to make it work. Will an old cousin of Cooper's be able to help? Chapter seven up...
1. Chapter 1

_**Sadly I don't own any of the characters (except Jenna)**_

_**Also a HUGE thank you to Emily, my beta... hopefully she'll give me her username soon so I can show off how amazing she is!**_

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It had been months, 5 months- nearly half a year since the attack. The amount of nights when she'd woken up, screaming had been become a rarity instead of a regular occurrence. She had been told she'd made 'remarkable progress', it didn't feel like progress though. Whenever she felt like she was progressing it would happen again, she'd wake up in a cold sweat, screaming, unable to stop; and when Cooper reached out to hold her it would only make matters worse. He was so uncertain, so afraid, his touch was trembling and soft, it felt like it was still a part of the dream. His gentle crooning hadn't done any good either; she needed someone to hold her tightly and to shout over the screaming going on in her head. She'd rock back and forth, coming slowly back to reality. She could never remember the panic attacks, she only knew what Cooper had told her and disjointed fragments, like a half forgotten dream.

They were getting through it, in the best way they could. They'd even had sex again- once- the flashback following was so vivid that night that Cooper hadn't brought it up again and Charlotte knew what the answer would be if she ever asked. Their coping strategy was avoidance, only occasionally they sat down and talked about it- but it was all so painful she couldn't bear it. She longed to go back to the days when talking used to be as simple as sharing a favourite book or colour. Now he'd try to make her relive the memories she was desperate to push away and forget. She refused to see Violet or Sheldon for counselling, it was only when Cooper had physically taken her there and shut her in a room with them she'd talked to them. But, in her opinion, their advice was so full of crap she hadn't taken any of it on board- she'd also been so angry with Cooper he promised never to do it again.

Work was getting better though, she spent less time in the hospital, only going when she was really needed. She'd also had a new office assembled on the other side of the hospital; she still went cold when she walked past the door though. She left early and insisted on having an assistant; she never admitted that it was because she never wanted to be alone in the hospital. She spent more time at the practice, near Cooper, she would never admit she needed him that much; but on the days when she wanted to curl into a ball and cry, seeing his face, normally accompanied by a small smile, gave her the strength to see her next patient.

To everyone, it seemed that the old Charlotte was virtually back.

To everyone but herself.

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Cooper had never told his family about the attack, it was too personal and raw to think about bringing it up. He knew that when Charlotte eventually met them, she wouldn't want her humiliation known to everyone, she would walk straight out of the door if she thought that any of their gazes were even partially filled with pity. Therefore, when his mother asked him to have his second cousin to stay for a few days while she was looking at Universities and a place to stay whilst studying in LA, he had no excuse. He tried everything, that they were busy (he was told she'd be perfectly happy to amuse herself), there wasn't enough room (she'd sleep on the sofa) and that it wasn't fair on Charlotte to have someone she didn't know in their home (well, it was about time she got to know your family then… when are we going to meet her?). He'd brought the conversation to an abrupt close at that point and said he'd talk to Charlotte. They hadn't asked why he'd pushed back wedding plans, or cancelled on every trip to come out and see them. He knew it hurt them but they were his family, he'd tell them in time.

When he came home from work that evening he found her curled up on the sofa, blanket pulled over her as she read. He smiled, just watching her. Eventually she realised he was there, putting down her book.

"Hi" her voice was tired and she wasn't wearing any makeup- this was Charlotte at her most relaxed. He noted the front cover, 'To Kill a Mockingbird' that must have been the 20th time she'd read that since they'd been together, let alone in her lifetime. His smile widened and as their eyes met she realized what he'd seen and smiled softly back at him.

"Hey babe" he hung up his coat and sat down beside her on the sofa. He put his arm loosely around her and she nestled up to him "Alright day?"

"Tiring" she mumbled "I hate the hospital" he stiffened slightly and she raised her head up and looked at him, frowning "sorry" She knew that he wanted her to leave the hospital, but to do that would be admitting defeat. "I'm sorry I didn't…"

"No" he sighed as she wriggled back to the position she'd been sitting in previously, pulling the blanket up to her chin "Charlotte I…'

"No Coop it's fine" her tone became no nonsense but he could tell she was slightly hurt. She looked away and there was a moment of tense silence until she said awkwardly "How was your day?"

It hurt him that they had been reduced to this safe, planned conversation. "My mother called", she didn't reply but her shoulders lifted slightly as they tensed. "She wanted to know how we were…"

Charlotte's head snapped around "She doesn't…"

"No" he said calmly "No Char, she doesn't know. I thought it would be better that way" she gave an audible sigh of relief and closed her eyes, a pained expression flickering across her face. "She wanted to talk about my cousin"

Her eyes snapped open again "Who?"

"My second cousin, she's looking at universities at the moment and is particularly interested in UCLA and she wondered if she could stay with us" Charlotte shook her head, stood up and headed for the bedroom. "Charlotte!"

"No Coop! I can't have her here with us!"

"Why not?" he leapt to his feet and moved quickly after her, shoving his shoulder in the door a second before she closed it on him. Her head was bowed and her blonde hair fell over her face. "Charlotte" his tone became pleading

"I can't Coop, what if… what if" she applied more pressure on the door but he was stuck fast.

"Charlotte for God's sake!" he cried as she gave an almighty push and he was, once more on the wrong side of the door. He stamped in frustration, grabbed his coat and left, slamming the door.

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_**Thanks for reading and don't forget to review! Next chapter coming soon.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much for your reviews, I really appreciate them. Sorry this is only a short chapter but I have a few chapters ready to post so they should come through in short bursts rather than long posts with a long gap between them.**

**Just a note to say those on twitter should check out Teamstrick which is a fan page for KaDee. The girl who runs it also has a site where you can post messages to KaDee and with each message some money will be donated to RAINN- KaDee knows about the site so there's a chance that she'll read your message.**

**It won't let me upload the url but if you go to the twitter page it will direct you to the site- sorry for the hassle but it's worth it for such a good cause!**

**Again I don't own any of the characters apart from Jenna.**

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As soon as he'd left he knew he'd done the wrong thing. She hated being alone, she hated him raising his voice and the sound of slamming doors sent her into a blind panic. He grabbed his phone from his pocket and his finger rested on the key labelled '2' it would send him on speed dial straight to her phone. He shook his head and pressed down on '3'. He waited for a few moments before picking up the phone.

"Cooper?"

"Violet, I messed up" he looked at his feet, even though she was curled up at home he could imagine his friend looking at him like she did at Lucas when he's drawn on the wall with his crayons.

"What did you do?" her tone was resigned

"My mum wanted to send Jenna over to stay with us"

"Why?" she cut in "Jenna's way too young to be travelling on her own to be seeing you guys and don't your family know that Charlotte's not in the right state to have anyone over?"

He sighed "First, Jenna's looking at UCLA so wants to stay with us for a bit. Second, they don't know"

"They don't know?" he could hear her disbelief and disapproval

"Don't start Vi, Char wouldn't have wanted them to know. The thing is…" he got the conversation back on track "Char flipped out"

"I don't blame her"

"But she wouldn't say why she wouldn't…" he began to pace in frustration "And I yelled and slammed the door. I left her all on her own"

"I think you know what to do Coop" and he heard the call being disconnected.

"Damn it Violet" the rain was soaking through his jacket and trickling down his back. He sighed; he did know what he had to do. He turned and headed back for home.

He could hear her crying before he unlocked the door. Charlotte hardly ever cried. Guilt rose from the pit of his stomach and formed a heavy lump in his throat and he closed his eyes, trying to get up the courage to walk in. He opened the door and stood in the living room, their bedroom door was still closed and the noise was coming from there. The thing about Charlotte was that she never did things by halves, when she actually cried, it was these terrible, gut wrenching sobs which he found hard to bear. He closed the front door, double locked it as he'd got used to doing over the past few months and strode toward the bedroom door.

She was curled up on the bed in the foetal position, every few minutes she took a huge gasp for breath before curling up even tighter. He knew she'd realized he was there but she hadn't bothered to turn around. "Charlotte" her cries stopped, her privacy had been interrupted and, as always, she didn't want to cry in front of him. He saw her sides heave shakily as she tried to regain composure.

"Go away" he had expected venom and bitterness in her voice, maybe even resentment. But it was almost a whisper.

"No" he pulled off his jacket and slid on the bed next to her, attempting to put his arms around her "Charlotte…"

"No Coop no!" she tried to wriggle away but he held her tightly, his arms around her waist. Her sides began to heave again and without warning she turned over and buried her face into his chest "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry. I'm a bitch and no wonder you want to leave"

"Don't be stupid Charlotte" he squeezed her softly "I love you, I just don't understand why you…"

"I'd humiliate you" she hiccupped "I'd wake up screaming and your family would think I'm mad because I'm a mess Coop… I'm such a damn mess"

With his free hand he stroked her hair "You haven't had one of those in over three weeks, though you'll probably have one tonight because I've been an ass…'

"I know why you'd get frustrated…."

"And Char, you would never humiliate me, got that? If it does happen we'll just say you had a nightmare, Jenna doesn't want to do psychology so she's not likely to ask what about. It's two weeks at most, she'd sleep on the couch- out during the day and we feed her in the evening and watch some TV with her, ready to send her off in the morning"

He felt her nod "Okay" she murmured "okay"

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**Thank you again and don't forget to review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much for the interest in the story so far, here's another chapter.**

**Sorry it's so late but you know what Christmas is like, I hope you all had a great time!**

**Again I don't own any of the characters except Jenna.**

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She sat in the car, not saying anything as they drove to the airport. She'd barely said anything about the visit in general- she'd diverted conversation whenever it was brought. She hated the idea of someone else in the one place she felt safe, she hated the possibility she'd flip out and look like a mental patient and most of all, she hated the fact it was someone from Cooper's family- and that she was meeting them when she was still damaged goods. But, when would she not be? Her hands were clenched into claws in her lap, her nails bitten and unpainted. She never painted them now; makeup was as far as she went, but whenever she looked at herself in the mirror all she saw was the bruised and bloody face staring back at her. She'd cut her hair too, it had grown back since the drastic cut but it still didn't have quite the same length. Her hair had been linked to the attack, everything had been linked to the attack- but her hair and clothes were easy to change.

Her jaw was clenched in an 'I'm not letting my emotions show but I'm not happy' way that was so typical of Charlotte King. When Cooper reached out to take her hand she pulled it away, angry at him for making her do this. "Let's just get this over with Coop", her voice was tinged with resentment but her eyes were cool, she was frowning slightly. Cooper sighed as he climbed out the car, she walked a few steps behind him; her head bowed as she carefully took in everyone around her, searching for a face, his face. Cooper knew she'd never truly be at ease until she knew that Lee McHenry was either behind bars or dead.

That was when he spotted his cousin. She'd grown since he last saw her, she was tall, skinny but with an hourglass waist; her brown hair tumbled in waves past her shoulders and her kind brown eyes searched the crowds for him. She wasn't the kid he'd played with at Thanksgiving anymore, she was almost an adult. Their eyes locked and with a teenage squeal she raced toward him, hugging him tightly "Cooper! I've missed you so much!" she pulled away and looked at him, she was wearing too much makeup in his opinion "Jeeze, you look old" He couldn't suppress a laugh, one of the few real laughs he'd experienced recently "No, no" she backtracked quickly, her eyes wide, realising what she'd said "I mean, you look tired. They obviously work you too hard in LA, I don't understand why you haven't come home and…"

She was rambling, that hadn't changed, she always rambled when she felt nervous or uncomfortable- the opposite of Charlotte who closed down in silence. "It's nice to see you too Jen" he turned her round to face Charlotte who was looking at them, her hands forced in a neutral position, clasped in front of her. Her whole body was tense but Jenna took no notice and before Cooper could stop her she'd raced toward his fiancé and pulled her into a tight hug- not a good move, but to his surprise Charlotte handled it quite well.

As she was released she coughed awkwardly before mumbling "Nice to meet you". She walked quickly past Jenna whose brow was furrowed in confusion, grabbed one of the suitcases and headed towards the door. It was obvious the case was far too heavy for her delicate frame and Cooper rushed to her side and tried to take it from her "Damn it Cooper I'm not a child I can do this" she snarled "Go get the other case and I'll meet you in the car".

Cooper stepped back as if he'd been stung, watching her go as she heaved the suitcase into the car. He felt Jenna stand beside him and he turned to look at her. She simply raised an eyebrow at the blonde "Well, she's really something" there was no accusation in her tone but that made it all the worse. He'd spent hours gushing to his family about Charlotte but the first member of his family she'd met now probably thought her to be rude.

He gave a long sigh "She's amazing" he said quietly "Just give her time and you'll see it" and with that he turned to grab the remaining suitcase and headed toward the car leaving Jenna standing there. She watched as he whispered something in Charlotte's ear; it seemed to have the desired effect as she stepped back and allowed him to put both the cases in the car and give her a chaste kiss on the cheek.

"Wow" she mumbled to herself quietly, "this is going to be a long two weeks".

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**So sorry this is so short but please review... it makes me more likely to update the story next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for all of the reviews so far but please don't stop!**

**Also, check out my Maddison one shot called 'Kissing Friends' that I wrote today. **

**Once again, I don't own any of the characters except for Jenna. **

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She wished she hadn't come. She hadn't wanted to go and look at the damn university she just wanted to stay at home. She loved Cooper, he was her favourite cousin, but she was incredibly awkward around people. Yes, she enjoyed family gatherings and he was really interesting to talk to, but to stay with him and the girlfriend (who he doted on and she'd never met) for two whole weeks without any of her immediate family terrified her. She felt stupid, out of place and, most of all, incredibly awkward. She looked out at the window as the car raced out of the airport. Cooper and the new girlfriend didn't speak to each other, let alone her, they simply looked straight ahead of them. You could've cut the tension with a knife and Jenna wanted nothing more than to scream "Turn around! I want to go home!"

They drove in silence for over an hour until finally Cooper turned round and with a strained smile said "I'm just going to stop off at the practice to get a few things".

Jenna nodded and gave a tense smile. "Cool", she put on a jovial tone "It'll be nice to see everyone, is Violet still there?" She didn't notice Charlotte tense in her seat, she would never have realised how uncomfortable it made her feel- Violet, unlike Charlotte, had become part of the family almost as soon as she and Cooper had become friends. Secretly the family had always believed that it was Violet that Cooper would eventually marry.

"Yeah she'll be there" Cooper smiled "If she doesn't have a patient I'm sure she'd love it if you stopped by and said hi. Lucas might be there too."

"Lucas?" Jenna replied, confused "Is he a new boyfriend or something?"

"No, no" Cooper laughed "Lucas is her son, he's totally adorable" They drew up outside the practice and Jenna took it all in, a son, wow. A lot had changed, that was definite. She climbed out of the car and watched as Charlotte stalked into the building, she felt hurt somehow, had she done something wrong? Again Cooper sighed as he walked past her "She's stressed at the moment" and he followed his fiancé into the building. Jenna didn't know how she was going to bear two weeks, just the thought of it made her so homesick she wanted to cry. She followed Cooper into the building and the two of them rode the elevator in silence, Charlotte was nowhere to be seen. When they reached the floor Cooper didn't stop, just walked straight out, leaving her standing there.

She looked around in a panic, unsure what to do. Her heart began to beat a little faster as she fought back tears. Finally her eyes came to rest on a door marked 'Dr Violet Turner" she hurried to the door, took a deep breath, and knocked. "Come in" Finally a familiar face. Violet was sitting at her desk but as soon as she saw who came through the door she leapt to her feet and gave Jenna a hug "It's been too long Jen, let me look at you" she pulled away, holding her at arm's length "wow, you grew up."

"And you're a mother" Jenna replied with a smile.

"I know, it's weird isn't it?" Violet crossed over and flopped onto one of the sofas and Jenna sat down beside her "So, you're in LA…"

"Yeah" Jenna's voice was uncertain "yeah, I guess I am"

"What's up?" Violet, being Violet, picked up on how uncomfortable the girl looked.

"Oh it's nothing" she paused, looking around "I don't think Charlotte likes me that much"

"Ah"

"And Cooper doesn't seem very happy either and I feel a bit like I'm just in the way" she fought back tears desperately, angry at herself. She hated the fact she cried at everything and nothing, it made her feel like she was 10 years old again.

"Charlotte's a tough cookie" Jenna noted how careful Violet's tone was, as if she was trying not to let anything slip "She's just off with people in general, she still snaps at me sometimes. I'm sure she likes you she just needs to get to know you a bit more" she sighed "But if you feel uncomfortable there you can always come stay with me for a bit, it you don't mind a screaming child at 6:00 am"

Jenna laughed "Nah it's cool Violet but thanks, but I do want to meet him… Lucas isn't it?"

Violet smiled "Yeah, you'd like him"

They both turned as Cooper stuck his head round the door "Time to go home Jen"

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**Please don't forget to review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Guys I am SO SORRY it has taken this long. I never thought that I'd be so bogged down with work and, as well as that, I've had rehersals for a production that I'm sound designing for at least twice a week. Anyway, you probably don't want excuses. **

**So to make up for it I've combined two chapters into one so it will be longer for you. It's been sitting there waiting to be edited and posted up so you'll have to ignore what has been going on in the show. I have another chapter to post tomorrow and I'll hopefully be more on track. **

**I don't own any of the characters except Jenna.**

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Dinner was awkward, occasionally Jenna or Cooper tried to make conversation but it was so strained it normally just settled into silence. Jenna learnt quickly that she could prevent the silences. She got up late, after they'd left she would grab some fruit for breakfast and either hang out with friends or would wander around, trying to get to know the place. When she bought lunch she always got two sandwiches, two pieces of fruit and two cereal bars, eating half for her lunch. In the evenings she'd go to the practice and chat to Violet until Cooper came to find her to take them all home. When Charlotte was with them for dinner, Jenna would smile and say that she was really tired and that she wasn't hungry; she'd go to her room and eat the second lunch for her supper and chat to friends online before going to bed. But on the rare night Charlotte was out (it had happened once in the four days Jenna had been there, and Cooper had spent the whole time texting or calling her like a worried father), they could sit and eat together and watch TV- it was manageable.

Jenna knew something wasn't right, she knew the strained conversations weren't only because of her and she knew that Cooper was lying to her. On her first night she'd been woken by crying and whimpers. Slowly she had got up and crept out of her room, down the corridor… a floorboard creaked and it stopped and in fear she raced back to her room. She wondered about saying anything and when she finally got up the courage to ask Cooper he'd replied that he hadn't heard anything and that it must have come from somewhere outside. His eyes had widened slightly as she'd asked the question though, his eyebrows had gone up and Jenna knew then he was lying to her. That was his 'I'm truthful you have to believe me' face, and it was manufactured, she'd known him long enough to realize that.

"I think I might go home early" she sighed, sitting on Violet's couch "I've seen what I want to in LA and I'm not spending any time talking with Cooper"

"Well that's because you go to your room every evening" Violet replied "You can't expect him to come and get you, why don't you eat with them?"

It all came spilling out in the end, she couldn't keep it in anymore and to be honest, she wanted someone to tell her it was alright to go home- she trusted Violet. "I just don't see the point in me being here anymore Vi, Cooper obviously has some big issue going on and he doesn't want me or any of the family to know about it…"

"Jenna?" Cooper stuck his head round the door "We're going home if you're ready?" Jenna nodded stiffly, terrified he'd heard her. She hated confrontation at the best of times, and this definitely wasn't the best of times. She almost ran from the office leaving Cooper standing there bemused "What's got into her?"

Violet got to her feet "She wants to go home Coop"

He looked shocked "Why? Why the hell would she want to go home?"

"Well, she knows you're lying to her" there was a silence "Coop you're a terrible liar and the fact she can't bear to eat dinner with you guys doesn't help either"

"She can't…"

"She thinks that Charlotte hates her and that there's a problem between the two of you and she's just in the middle. She's right of course, apart from Charlotte hating her, I hope. Please Coop, she's miserable"

Cooper looked mystified "Woah, okay, I did not see that one coming" Violet only sighed and went back to her desk and papers. He stood there for a moment before spotting Charlotte walking through the reception he hurried toward her and gently touched her arm "We need to talk"

She looked at him sharply "About what?"

"Jenna's realised something's up"

She turned to face him now, her eyes glinting dangerously "But you're not going to tell her?"

"I have half a mind to…"

"Cooper!" her words were hushed and angry "Don't you dare Cooper Freedman or I'll…"

"What? You'll do what?"

Her voice was desperate now "Cooper please don't. I just couldn't…."

He pulled her into a tight hug "I won't" he sighed, stroking her hair "You know I won't if you don't want me to." He felt her nod against him "But Char we need to do something, she thinks you hate her"

"I don't" her voice was muffled "I'm just worried she'll find out"

"If she does we'll deal with it" he murmured soothingly to her "But I don't think she'd tell the family if we didn't want her to. Also I want you to take her out to lunch or something"

She wriggled away and looked at him, half bemused and half horrified "Why in God's name would I do that?"

"Because it would show you don't hate her and want to try and be nice?" his voice had a wheedling quality "Please Char, I'm out tomorrow for a meeting so you can do lunch and then have a girls night in or something?" his face was so pathetic she couldn't help but laugh.

"Fine" she conceded "I'll do it, but I draw the line on facials" and she walked smartly toward elevator, turning once to look at him and gave him a small, genuine smile "You coming?"

That was why Charlotte and Jenna were in a car together, driving to a restaurant for lunch. Jenna was obviously nervous, she kept her gaze strictly towards the floor and she clasped her hands tightly in her lap. Glancing at her, Charlotte couldn't help but feel guilty- it must be hard for her in a new place and the one person she knows being stolen away by this bitchy stranger. She sighed. "Sorry I've been such a bitch lately" out of the corner of her eye she was Jenna's head shoot up "I've just had a lot on" yeah, a lot on… waking up in the middle of the night trying to get the feeling of him off of you, burying yourself in work to avoid talking about anything, getting through it, getting through it the best you can.

"It's okay" her voice was hesitant "I get that you're busy, you're a doctor like Cooper"

Charlotte smiled "Yeah but we're not the same type of doctor" Jenna went scarlet with embarrassment and Charlotte couldn't help but laugh, again, two days in a row "Bless your heart"

"I'm sorry I know it's a real kind of doctor…"

She smiled "It's okay, it's a bit strange I know" she saw Jenna visibly relax "Relax okay? I'm not the blonde bitch… most of the time" This time Jenna laughed, she was getting through to her, she was just shy "So what are you looking to study?"

"English"

"You don't sound that enthusiastic" it was true, when Charlotte was looking for places to study medicine Big Daddy could barely reign her in as she checked places out, it had been the only thing she could talk about. "Why UCLA?" Jenna shrugged in reply

"I don't know really, now I think about it, it's so far away from my family apart from Cooper"

"It's a learning curve" Charlotte replied "You're not going to be around them your whole life so your becoming independent- you won't miss them as much as you think you will and if you do you can always drop by me and Coop"

Jenna smiled, obviously comforted, there was a short silence before "Is it bad I miss my dog more than my mother?" Again Charlotte couldn't hold back the laughter; she almost missed what the girl followed it up with "I know that it's silly but it kind of sucks"

Charlotte grinned "I had a spaniel at my parent's house when I was younger, back in Alabama. He was supposed to be a working dog but I smuggled him in at night or when Big Daddy was away working." She sighed "I loved that dog."

Jenna finally looked enthusiastic, "Really?" her tone was interested "what was her name, what did she look like?"

Charlotte smiled "I'll remember to stick to dogs and not studying in conversation. Her name was Reba and she was small and almost red in colour, I thought she was beautiful. She died about a year after I went to medical school" she sighed "maybe one day I'll get another"

Jenna smiled "Does Cooper know about Reba?"

There was a moments silence as Charlotte mused "No, he doesn't. We'll have to tell him tomorrow evening."

"Won't he be home tonight?"

Charlotte tried to hide the cold chill running through her body "No, he won't. He has a meeting or something and he won't be back until tomorrow" he tried to get out of it, or to get her to come but she'd insisted that he go on his own- she couldn't cling to him forever; but she couldn't help but feel terrified about the prospect of being alone, well, nearly alone. She took a sharp inhale, trying to shake off the feeling and continued "So we'll just have to watch crappy TV and do nothing after I finish work" she tried to smile "We're going to one of my favourite places in LA- they do good food" she pulled up outside the restaurant and nodded toward it "I think you'll like it"

They got out the car and headed for it; they chatted happily, waiting to get seated and Charlotte finally felt relaxed and in control- she liked Jenna and got on well with her, this stay wasn't going to be as bad as she thought. She respected her for not saying anything about what she had heard over the past few nights. "Doctor King your table is ready" she turned to the waiter, but instead of looking at him her eyes went straight to the man on the other side of the restaurant. His head had been bowed as he was eating but she'd recognize him anywhere. A cold sweat broke out over her body and her fists clenched as she began to shake. He lifted his head and his eyes met hers, she was looking straight at Lee McHenry.

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**So there you go! I hope it was worth the wait...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, here's the next chapter I promised. I'm working on the next one but my so called 'holiday' is filled with essays. **

**Again, the only character I don't own is Jenna. **

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"Charlotte" she felt a warm hand clasp her wrist but her eyes never left him, whose eyes were filled with an equal amount of panic. "Charlotte" the voice was firm "Charlotte what's wrong? Charlotte, you're shaking" her head snapped to Jenna whose eyes were full of concern "You've gone white Charlotte" Charlotte watched as the girl's eyes rested on the man she'd been staring at, even more panic gripped her, she had them both in a dangerous situation. In her peripheral vision she saw Lee get to his feet and before she could do anything Jenna was dragging her toward the car "Come on, we'll get take out or something". Instead of climbing into the driver's seat, Jenna opened the passenger seat door and pushed her into the car, shutting the door and climbing in on the driver's side; she locked the doors and began to drive. Charlotte could see Lee in the rear view mirror; Jenna noticed too but only put on some speed. Charlotte stared out into space as the shaking subsided, her eyes blank and glassy but she was soothed by the sound of the car, by the feeling that Jenna was driving her away. Finally Jenna stopped the car "You look like crap" she said finally "I don't know what has just happened but I want to call Cooper"

Immediately Charlotte snapped to attention "No, I'm fine- you can take me back to work"

"No" Jenna's voice was stronger and defiant, she was surprised "I won't call Cooper if you don't want me to but you need to go home, we'll get take out and watch TV all day. The only problem is…"

"What?" her heart rate was slowly returning to normal

"I'm lost; I just drove wherever, to get away"

Charlotte nodded "Thank you, I think I can get us home from here" The two switched places and as she drove Charlotte felt herself tensing, was Jenna going to ask any questions? She didn't think she could handle that now. She glanced once over to the girl who was staring out of the window, frowning- but when she realised Charlotte was watching her she gave a small smile.

"It's okay" she said finally "If you don't want to tell me it's up to you" a wave of relief washed over her, followed by a small amount of guilt- the girl was too good to be true. They stopped only long enough for Jenna to jump out and get some food "They do good sandwiches and stuff here" she said as she climbed back into the car, causing yet more guilt for Charlotte- she knew that this was what Jenna had been eating whilst hidden in her room.

They ate pretty much in silence whilst they watched TV- Jenna had put on her favourite programme, CSI. It was her worst nightmare; it was to do with a rape case. She didn't feel she could make the girl turn over after today so she sat in silence, gripping her coffee in her hand, determined not to go to sleep tonight.

At about 11, when the program was finally over Jenna got to her feet "I'm off to bed" she gave Charlotte a smile; having learnt that hugs weren't her thing and headed for her bedroom, leaving Charlotte curled up on the sofa.

Jenna was woken by screaming, this wasn't the crying she'd hear before; this was a full on, blood curdling scream. She leapt out of bed and grabbed a thick book, something she could use to hit with. Instead of running straight to Charlotte, who she knew was the one screaming, she checked the front door- bolted just how she'd left it. No one was in the house. Next, she moved to Charlotte and Cooper's room, she opened the door quickly and found Charlotte writhing on her bed, twisted in the sheets. Without thinking she climbed onto the bed and tore the sheets away from Charlotte, freeing her. Now Charlotte sat up, her eyes wide and darting yet unseeing, tears were pouring down her face and she still let out screams of pure terror. Jenna wrapped her arms around her, holding her tightly and raised her voice above the cries "Charlotte! You're safe, the doors are locked, there's no one here, you're safe" and she kept repeating it, over and over again as Charlotte's cries became quieter, her shaking less violent and her tears lessened as she slowly came back to reality. Finally she lay like a broken doll against Jenna, taking deep gasps of air until she turned all of a sudden and hugged Jenna tightly, her whole body shaking as she cried. "It's okay" Jenna murmured.

The spell was broken; Charlotte pulled free and turned away, fiercely wiping her eyes "No, it's no okay" her voice was low, broken and growled "I woke you up and made a complete fool of myself, it's not okay!" she turned again to face her, her tearstained eyes blazing at Jenna whose own eyes were widened in confusion.

"Charlotte... what the hell happened to you? Who was that guy?"

Charlotte got to her feet and began to pace back and forth "I was raped okay?" she spat, her words laced with bitterness "About 5 or six months ago" she turned to see Jenna's reaction "and don't you dare give me the dammed pity eyes, I'm sick of them."

Jenna held her hands up in mock surrender "I won't" she said quickly "So that guy…"

Charlotte gave a harsh laugh "Yeah that was him, they can't prosecute him."

"And I made you watch… shit Charlotte I'm…"

"Don't say you're sorry, Cooper says that too much"

Jenna nodded "So that was a flashback" Charlotte stopped, looked at her in surprise and nodded "Charlotte it's nothing to be ashamed of. It happened and I'm sorry it happened" she continued quickly before Charlotte could cut in "But avoiding it all makes it worse, I had no idea."

"That's how I wanted it to be."

"Why?"

"Because I'm already damaged enough!" she spat, "Cooper's family will want me to be the perfect woman to marry their perfect son and I'm…" she sat back down on the bed and continued quietly "I'm broken."

Jenna moved toward her and sat beside her "Well I'm Cooper's family and I don't care." Charlotte looked at her "I think you're amazing, I couldn't get on with my life like you have." she carefully put her hand on Charlotte's and squeezed it "Yeah you don't have to tell everyone" she admitted "But my family's not going to chuck you out or hate you for something that happened to you that was beyond your control" she sighed "Now just take a sleeping pill and I'll stay here till you fall asleep"

"I can't"

"Why not?"

Charlotte gave another harsh chuckle "I'm NAA, recovering addict."

"Fine" Jenna got to her feet and pulled Charlotte up with her, pulling her into the main TV room "sit down" Charlotte sat, waiting as Jenna moved into the kitchen. A few moments later she emerged with two steaming cups of hot chocolate "Drink" she handed her a cup "It'll make you feel warm and sleepy" she turned on the TV and flicked through the channels "and we're going to watch TV, crappy TV. Have you ever seen Total Wipeout? You'll love it, and we'll have it on low until you fall asleep, and I'm here to make sure everything's okay" Charlotte nodded and felt her shoulders fall as she relaxed, watching the television with Jenna, she felt safe again.

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**Reviews make me more likely to have the new chapter up quickly :) **


	7. Chapter 7

**Here you go guys :) A huge thanks to my beta reader Emily_90, I couldn't do this without her checking for typos and gently nagging me to write the next chapter!**

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Charlotte woke with a crick in her neck. With a groan she opened her eyes, slowly uncurling from the sofa and rolled her head from side to side. She glanced over at the clock hanging on the table beside her '12:00' and it definitely wasn't midnight "Shit!" she leapt to her feet and ran to her bedroom and started to grab clothes out of the wardrobe.

"I've called in for you," Jenna's voice floated in from the kitchen "You can stay at home". By the time Charlotte turned around Jenna was leaning casually in the doorway, holding a cup of coffee. She looked completely relaxed, wearing a hoodie and sweatpants, her hair unbrushed and wearing no makeup. She took a sip of her coffee "No offense Charlotte, but you look like crap and I definitely wouldn't want anyone to be my doctor if they'd only had five hours 6 hours sleep."

"Six hours is a lie-in for me kid," Charlotte growled "You have no idea." She was furious; who the hell did this kid think she was? Cooper had always known to back off when it came to her work, if she could work herself to exhaustion, it would mean that she would fall into a dead sleep that evening- which was what she needed. She should never have told Jenna, to have let her in was a big mistake. Now, because she's shown some weakness, this girl thought that she could walk all over her. She wouldn't have it.

"Well remind me to never go to a doctor again" Charlotte continued to glare at her and she rolled her eyes "Look, I only said you were feeling like crap because you have a cold. I didn't say anything about what happened. Even when Cooper called, I didn't tell him." Charlotte stiffened "I knew you wouldn't want Cooper to know and worry".

Charlotte sighed and threw the work clothes she was clutching onto her bed and sat down heavily "Thanks" she murmured. Jenna disappeared from the doorway for a few moments, leaving Charlotte sitting there to think. In a strange way, telling Jenna had given her a kind of release- sure, she wouldn't go around shouting from the rooftops about what had happened to her but she didn't have to keep so everything so bottled up. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair; she looked up as Jenna sat down beside her and passed her another mug of coffee which she sipped from gratefully. "I'm sorry I snapped" she said finally "I'm used to everyone giving me the pity eyes and tiptoeing around me. I hate it."

Jenna smiled "It's cool, I should've woken you up but you looked kinda peaceful" there was a moments silence, not awkward but companionable "I get why you want to keep it all quiet, it's such a personal thing to happen to you, no one can ever really understand." Charlotte nodded in agreement "I'm not going to try and understand" Jenna continued "Because I know I never could, but you can trust me not to tell anyone, and you shouldn't stop what happened to you from meeting my family and getting on with your life." she gave a wry smile "Plus it would be nice to have someone to talk to next thanksgiving. I mean, I love them all, but they can be pretty boring after a while."

Charlotte chuckled "Well I'll definitely consider it, and I'll talk to Cooper about it" It was then she heard a key turn in the lock. Stiffening she turned around.

"Charlotte? Jenna?" she let out of long exhale, relieved at the sound of her fiancée's voice. Cooper stuck his head round the door and observed the two sitting on the bed, side by side, sipping coffee. Charlotte looked haggard, her hair was tousled and she was clutching the coffee as if it was going to be the cure for the common cold. But when she turned to look at him, her eyes were soft and she appeared more relaxed than he'd seen her in a while. She gave him a small smile.

"Hey Coop"

Jenna got up and began to move out of the room "I'll give you guys some time on your own" and she turned back once to smile at Charlotte who nodded back. Whatever had happened when Cooper was away, it had bonded the two women and they now seemed extremely close. As Jenna left the room, he dropped his bag onto the floor and sat himself down beside Charlotte on the bed. She rested her head on his shoulder and slowly, carefully, he put his arm around her. Instead of flinching away, she stayed where she was, if anything she was nuzzling into him. She sighed and he felt the tension leave her body.

"So what's this about you being ill?" he murmured, pressing his lips to the top of her head. She gave a low chuckle and she broke away from the embrace, turning to look at his directly.

"I had a flashback last night, it was pretty nasty, the most vivid I've had in a while" he stiffened and opened his mouth to speak but Charlotte cut him off. "It's fine Coop, we dealt with it" she nodded toward the door "I told Jenna, I told her everything," his surprise must have been evident on his face. "We saw Lee yesterday, at lunch. He didn't do anything, I think he was just as scared as I was and Jenna got me out of there quickly. I think that brought on the flashback, but telling Jenna… It wasn't as bad as I thought, she's a good kid" she smiled "She actually got me to sleep."

He grinned and hugged her "I'm glad" he murmured. "I'm so… I'm just glad" she giggled.

"I'm not going to lie" Jenna's voice floated in "But I'm getting bored out here" and with that they both smiled and went to join her in the main room.

The rest of the day past quickly, Cooper agreed with Jenna that Charlotte should skip work that day and he phoned into the practice to cancel his patients for the day. It was the kind of day that Cooper had hoped for when he had found out Jenna was going to come and stay. The girls were laughing and chatting over the crappy films they had rented and he could safely put his arm round Charlotte and watch, just happy to have her close to him. He also learnt that Jenna could cook, and cook well, just like his mother. He knew that for the remainder of her stay there would be no more awkwardness and that this was taking Charlotte closer to meeting the rest of his family.

It was about 6pm when his cell phone rang. He nearly didn't answer it but the ringing had irritated Charlotte and she'd forced him to pick up the phone. He slowly walked out of the main room and into their bedroom to get away from the noise of the TV and the laughing women.

"Cooper it's me" it was Sam, he sounded upset and worried and immediately Cooper realised something was up.

"Sam what's wrong?"

"Have you or Charlotte left the house today? Have you been anywhere near the pier?"

"No why, Sam tell me what's wrong?"

There was a sigh from the other end "It's Lee Coop, Lee McHenry just died on the table. There was an accident, a car crash I think, and they hit a tree full on, the girlfriend and the son survived but the son's in intensive care"

Cooper inhaled sharply "We've been at home all day, are they thinking we're involved?"

"They're checking the car for any sign of foul play; I just wanted to be sure."

"We've been at home all day, there was no way any of us could have been responsible or involved with the accident. Should I tell Charlotte?"

"If you want to, it's up to you."

"She saw him yesterday, at lunch. I…" he turned to see Charlotte in the doorway "I… I've got to go Sam, I'll call you back." He flipped his phone shut and looked at her; her jaw was set as it always did when she was angry or upset. He noticed her hands were clenched tightly, pulling at her sleeve.

"So," her voice was shaky and she swallowed hard "The son of a bitch is dead?" he nodded "and the girlfriend? The boy?"

He sighed "The boy's in intensive care, the girlfriend is fine". His eyes widened in surprise as she grabbed her bag "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to the hospital" she paused and looked him straight in the eye "I need to do this Coop, please?" he nodded "Right then," she became business-like once more "let's get over there."

She stood stock still, looking into the room where Lee's girlfriend sat crying beside her boyfriend's body. She'd already looked in on the son; he was going to be fine, stable for now. She took a deep breath, straightened her white doctor's coat and stepped inside. The woman looked up, she had a few stitches above her left eye and some bruises but apart from that she was fine, though her eyes were swollen from crying. Charlotte sighed but didn't say anything, she turned her gaze onto the body of Lee, feeling a sense of relief but also disappointment, he would never be brought to justice, unless there was a place reserved in hell for him and she sure hoped there was. He shouldn't look as peaceful as he was, and this woman shouldn't be crying over him, he should have been alone, hurt and scared, just like she had been. "You're her aren't you?" Charlotte stiffened, so she'd known, go figure. She nodded stiffly "I… I suppose you're happy now."

Her head snapped back to the woman sharply, her eyes blazing in anger "Happy? No. I haven't been happy in a long time, and do you know why? Because this man raped me and left me for dead. Yes, I'm relieved he's gone, relieved I won't have to look over my shoulder every time I walk down the street, relieved that he can never hurt me again. But no, I'm not happy. You knew, you knew what he did to me and you stayed with him. You're…" she snorted in disgust "You're crying over the body of a rapist. If you ask me, you're the lucky one. Not lucky for not being hurt; you're lucky because he can never hurt you in the way he hurt me. Have a nice life, and please, for God's sake, raise his son to be a better man than he was."

With that she turned sharply on her heel and left. Standing waiting for her were Cooper and Jenna; Jen nodded in approval and squeezed Charlotte's arm as she walked past but it was Cooper that Charlotte needed. Finally, drained, she fell into his arms, and cried.

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